Well, anything that has automatic synchronisation enabled is fine anyway. Like most people, I use external drives that get synchronised every so often with my main PC drive. Can't see how RAID would do this differently.

It's actually a common source of data error when multiple drives go down or the operator replaces the wrong disk. It's also fairly common for people to type a wrong command.

Additionally, RAID doesn't save you from bit rot nor does it protect you against accidentally deleting the files.

Additionally, if you aren't really careful the likelihood of losing data is even higher than if you're just using a single drive.
See the rest of my post. RAID is arguably worse than keeping a single copy. The OP asked about backing up games, whether the OP means backup or archive the answer is equally not RAID. It's just not the appropriate solution for backups or archiving.

A longer term solution to keeping the games would be nice, but it seems deterioration is inevitable with the basic stuff I was planning on using. I would get the gold discs or a portable HDD, but they're a bit pricey for me. I guess i'll just have to keep an eye on the discs and make new copies periodically.
I have to say this thread became very informative. The info everyone has provided so far has been helpful, thank you all.

I generally prefer the DVD+R format for its additional features and because it's the "real" computer standard for DVD recording (-R doesn't support all the features the +R does).

As of the "best" format, I would consider much more the quality of discs compounds rather than any other thing: a quality disc (ie Verbatim MCC) with a better organic dye will tend to last much, much, much longer than a cheap, PRINCO-quality (synonymous of "bird shit") one...

From info I have read 2 years is really soon to do that. I have read anywhere from 5-10 years for a DVDR kept in a cool, dark place. Professionally stamped discs, like for a retail video game, could last forever.

I would order Verbatim online (as the stores around here don't have that brand), but i've seen customer reviews online where people got "Made in India" batches of discs that were poor quality. I'm afraid of getting those batches ordering them online. Thanks for the info though.

It's been said before, and it's entirely right: format doesn't matter...disc quality matters. If you're using DVDs from a cheap 50-pack spindle, they will start to decay within a few years; re-burn every couple of years to preserve your data.

There are longer-term archival discs, including discs with a 24-karat gold storage layer. These will hold your data a lot longer, but are also substantially more expensive. Photography boutiques will often sell these; they are a popular backup medium for pro photographers, and many wedding photographers will use them to pass along digital copies of wedding pictures to clients.

If you want to try out another DVD burning software, i recommend ImgBurn.

It works great for me.

I have been using it for a couple of years and the author is constantly improving it.

Best of all it´'s free.

If you are comfortable with ordering from Europe, you could go with Nierle and shop by the media code of your desired disk type....

Would these be better?
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-4-7GB-LightScribe-30pk-Spindle/dp/B0009NZ6M0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1295033318&sr=8-2

Or would it be more like these?
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-96320-UltraLife-Archival-5-Disc/dp/B000WTO352/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1295034297&sr=8-2

There isn't really a place around where I live that sells them so online ordering is my best option.

I'm very fond of this burning software: http://cdburnerxp.se/ Quality freeware.

Both are good quality but the second type is somewhat better for longer term preservation

The first type is only useful if you have a lighscribe burner though

Yeah, I wish they had a version of that 30 pack without lightscribe.
I'm a bit uneasy about spending that much on the 5 pack. I would really have to not waste disc space and if I got a bad batch or the burning process went wrong, i'd be out some money.

In the USA , you should be able to find Kodak gold preservation DVD-R. They exist in 25x spindles and should retail in the 50-60 USD range.

in the verbatim range, the ultralife exists in 50x spindles too, reference Verbatim 95355 . (70-100 USD )

consireding that you may not need the 100 years lifespan of archival DVDs, you may want to consider the datalife plus.
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-DataLifePlus-Inkjet-Printable-Spindle/dp/B0001LRIT4/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1295096071&sr=8-10